Watch: Lionel Messi’s brilliant goal against Australia which helped Argentina enter FIFA World Cup quarterfinals

Lionel Messi found the back of the net as Argentina stormed into the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup after defeating Australia 2-1 in a thrilling Round of 16 clash at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Sunday.

Notably, Messi scored his 9th goal of the World Cup to surpass legend Diego Maradona, who had 8 goals to his name in the World Cup. It was also the Argentine’s first goal in the knockout stage. The goal made him the second-highest scorer for Argentina in World Cups, only one goal behind Gabriel Batistuta.

The kickoff saw Argentina dominating from the beginning as they took control of the ball and displayed great skill to take control of the midfield. However, Messi was targeted by the Aussie players who had him surrounded by their defenders for reasons known to mankind.

The 2021 Copa Americans enjoyed greater possession but the Aussie team were not intimated and kept their composure to finally had a chance at scoring in the 29th minute.

Glances were exchanged between Messi and Behich as both played ferociously to take control of the ball. They got into a confrontation which had to be resolved by the referee. But this little exchange fuelled the Argentine and cost the Aussies a goal as Messi scored in the 35th minute. The Paris Saint-German (PSG) star blasted a fine low curling shot from inside the box to beat Australia goalkeeper Ryan to give Argentina a 1-0 lead.

Here’s the video of Messi’s goal:

• Messi's 🤌🏻 placement 🎯
• Alvarez's alertness 🚨
• Goodwin with a glimmer of hope 🙏

Watch all the 3️⃣ goals from #ARGAUS & keep watching the #FIFAWorldCup on #JioCinema & #Sports18 📺📲#Qatar2022 #WorldsGreatestShow #FIFAWConJioCinema #FIFAWConSports18 pic.twitter.com/3gOHiOknZq

— JioCinema (@JioCinema) December 3, 2022

Cannot quantify #Messi magic with numbers but it's worth a shot 😬

📹 The 🔢 behind that 🤌🏻 ⚽

Watch the @Argentina star LIVE at the #WorldsGreatestShow 👉🏻 #JioCinema & #Sports18 📺📲#Qatar2022 #FIFAWorldCup #FIFAWConJioCinema #FIFAWConSports18 pic.twitter.com/yT6jywFK6f

— JioCinema (@JioCinema) December 4, 2022

The first half came to an end with the crowd going berserk with cheers of  Messi  echoing throughout the stadium and Argentina leading Australia 1-0.

In the second half, Julian Alvarez took advantage of a blunder made by Australia’s goalkeeper Matt Ryan. In the 57th minute of the game, Rowles passed the ball back to Ryan in danger due to a breakdown in communication at the back. The Australian goalie made a mistake with two Argentine players creating pressure prodding forward, giving the ball to Alvarez, who skillfully finished netting the ball to give his side a 2-0 lead.

It seemed done and dusted for Australia, trailing by two goals but they found the back of the net in the 77th minute through Argentina’s own goal.

Australia had their tails up after that and created chances to score. However, the team lacked the finesse to finish properly as Argentina won the game 2-1 to enter the quarterfinals where they will lock horns with the Netherlands on December 10.

(With ANI inputs)

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